


Fixing What's Been Broken

by watercoloursandgunpowder



Category: The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Fluff and Angst, M/M, References to Suicide Attempt, and porn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-04-02
Updated: 2013-04-24
Packaged: 2017-12-07 07:46:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/746051
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/watercoloursandgunpowder/pseuds/watercoloursandgunpowder
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bruce falls apart, Tony has to pick us the pieces before it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Cracks

**Author's Note:**

> Some dialogue taken straight from the film, no copyright infringement intended

“Huh, I’ll read all about it,” Bruce said with his shy, crooked smile. Tony shot a quick look at him over his shoulder. 

“Or, you’ll be suiting up with the rest of us” he said, fiddling with the data on the screen in front of him. He heard Bruce give a small scoff.

“Ah, see, I don’t get a suit of armour.” Tony could hear his voice getting tighter as his smile faded. “I’m exposed, like a nerve.” He paused again and Tony looked over again. His face was blank in the reflection of the glass screen he was working on. “It’s a nightmare.” He looked back at Tony, his face betraying a flash of pain, before his eyes flicked back towards the floor.

Tony gave up trying to distract himself from his longing for the beautiful, broken scientist. He tried a different tactic to help Bruce.

“You know, I’ve got a cluster of shrapnel trying every second to crawl its way into my heart. This stops it” he tapped the arc-reactor as he stepped towards Bruce. “This little circle of light, it’s a part of me. Not just armour. It’s a terrible… privilege.”

“But you can control it” Bruce said in a matter-of-fact tone. Tony stood opposite him, on the other side of the screen.

“Because I learned how.”

“It’s different.” Bruce moved to start adjusting the information in front of him again, trying to avoid the conversation, but Tony wanted him to listen. He swiped a hand across the glass and moved the information to the side so he could see slightly smaller man. 

“Hey,” he said in a softer tone, “I read all about your little ‘accident’, that much gamma exposure should’ve killed you.”

“So, you’re saying that the Hulk,” Bruce paused and looked at the floor again, “…the other guy, saved my life? That’s nice.” He nodded, a hint of sarcasm crept into his voice. “That’s a nice sentiment. Saved it for… what?” he looked at Tony, seeing if the genius billionaire could come up with an answer.

Tony looked at him with sincerity shining in his brown eyes. 

“I guess we’ll find out.”

Bruce smirked and shot Tony a sarcastic look. “And how, Mr Stark, do you plan on doing that?”

“I have my ways, Dr Banner” he said with a wink.

Bruce laughed softly and tried to call his work back with a flick of his hand, but Tony pushed the screen out from between them and took a step towards him. He expected Bruce to take a step back, to ignore his closeness, even to push him away, but he just stood still, eyes falling back to the ground and hands tangling together like they did when he was nervous, which was almost always.

Tony could see his shoulders tense and shift forward, trying to make himself smaller. He’s so scared of getting close to someone, Tony thought, so scared of hurting the people he cares about. Tony wanted to reassure him somehow, but he didn’t know how to do it with words. So he tried something different.

Tony’s hand came up slowly and slid Bruce’s glasses from his face, placing them on the counter next to them. His hand came back to Bruce’s face and he brushed the pad of his thumb along Bruce’s cheekbone.

His hand then moved to the mess of dark curls and he ran his fingers through the greying hair at Bruce’s temple. A hand wrapped around Tony’s wrist, keeping it there. He stroked the side of Bruce’s face with his thumb as Bruce sighed and leaned into his touch.

Bruce’s thumb stroked the back of Tony’s hand as he closed his eyes and focused on the warm hand. This was the first time in… he couldn’t even remember how long, that someone had touched him in such a sweet way. He wanted to savour it, the feel of Tony’s calloused fingers tangled in his hair. He had wanted this, wanted Tony.

He inhaled deeply, catching the scent of coffee, expensive aftershave and something deeper, something so… Tony.

Tony watched the shy, softly spoken man react to his touch. He wondered how long it’d been since someone had reached out to him with kind intentions. He’d read the file, seen the disgusting, unspeakable things people had done to him. It made him so angry to think that people could do things like that to anyone, let alone Bruce. His Bruce.

His mind flicked back to what he was doing when Bruce gave a soft, almost inaudible hum. He opened his eyes, peering at Tony though dark lashes. The look sent a shot of fire down Tony’s back.

Before Bruce even knew what was happening, he leaned up to brush his lips against Tony’s. Tony jerked back just out of reach. He hadn’t meant to, it was pure shock. He wanted Bruce, badly. 

But he had fucked up.

Bruce’s eyes shot open when he realised Tony had moved. He backed away, pulling Tony’s hand from his hair. 

“I.. I..” Bruce fumbled for words. 

“Bruce wait-” Bruce cut him off. 

“I.. I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have done that, I’m sorry.”

He looked around as he backed away, trying to avoid knocking anything over. He’d embarrassed himself enough. 

“I should.. I should go..” he trailed off as he all but ran out of the lab. He face burned and he felt like he might cry as he strode quickly down the corridor, trying to get as far away from Tony as possible.

Tony nearly shouted in frustration as he kicked the workbench. He leaned against the metal countertop and ran his hands through his hair. How could he do something so stupid? The look on Bruce’s face when he was backing away nearly broke his heart. And he’d put it there.

“FUCK” he shouted, slamming a fist on the counter.

***

Bruce had locked himself in a small bathroom further down the corridor. He leaned his back against the door and slid down to the floor, wrapping his arms around his knees and resting his head on his forearms. He could feel the pressure building in his chest before it burst forward as a sob.

Tony…

Tony was repulsed by him.

He didn’t blame him. He’s a monster, he should be locked away. Why would Tony ever want him when he could have his pick of anyone.

Tony. Bruce had fallen hard for the billionaire. The way he treated Bruce like he was a normal person, when everyone else acted like he was a time bomb. The way he didn’t cower in fear every time Bruce’s calm slipped, he just showed the same amount of childish curiosity. The way his hands felt on Bruce, when they accidentally brushed in the lab, on Bruce’s shoulder in a congratulatory slap after working out some complicated formula, in his hair, against his temple…

He choked back another sob, curled in on himself, staying on the floor of the bathroom as long as he could.


	2. Patching It Up

Eventually, Bruce had to pick himself up off the bathroom floor. He stared at himself in the mirror above the sink, sighing and splashing a handful of cold water on his face. His eyes were still a little red and his voice felt thick, but if he walked fast enough, no one would stop him on the hallway. 

***

His mind flashed back to earlier on in the lab, when Tony had shocked him with the small metal rod. The way Tony’s eyes had searched his for any sign of the Other Guy. 

“Nothin’?” Bruce laughed and turned back to the readings on Loki’s sceptre. A small blush crept into his cheeks. 

“You really do have a lid on it, don’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, big bag of weed…”

“Is everything a joke to you?” Steve snapped at him. 

“Funny things are” Tony shot back, smirking. 

“Threatening the safety of everyone on this ship isn’t funny. "No offence, Doc” he added. 

“No I-it’s alright, I wouldn’t have come aboard if I couldn’t handle… pointy things” He chuckled softly again. 

“You’re tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut” Tony produced some blueberries out of nowhere. Steve started some retort, but Bruce zoned out a little, trying to focus on his work, but was only able to think about what just happened. The way Tony joked and played around with the Other Guy, when everyone else, like Steve, was worried about another “incident”. 

***

He made his way back towards the lab. He knew he’d have to face Tony, he just hoped the incident could be forgotten. He looked through the glass walls of the lab and saw Tony facing away from the door and rubbing a hand across the back of his neck. 

He opened the door as quietly as he could and shut it behind him. He picked up the glass tablet he’d placed on the workbench a few hours earlier and trailed towards his vacated seat. The legs of the chair made a small scraping noise as he pulled it towards the table and Tony whipped around, only noticing him then.

“Bruce.. Bruce I’m so-” 

“Please, can we leave it alone.” Bruce cut him off in a flat voice. He fiddled with the tablet, turning it on and refusing to look at Tony. 

“Bruce please, I didn’t-” Tony sounded almost upset, but that was probably just Bruce's imagination, his senses warped by his longing.

“I said leave it!” Anger had crept into his voice, but it remained cold and distant. Tony felt horrible. Bruce thought he didn’t want him. 

He decided to leave Bruce to his work, he didn’t want to cause an incident. He went back to his own work station where the glass screen showed the spy ware he had programmed to decrypt every dirty little secret S.H.I.E.L.D. had. Along side it was the program tracking the gamma readings from the spectrometers. 

His gaze drifted back to Bruce. The doctor was concentrating fiercely on his work, obviously trying to make sure Tony left him alone. Tony sank into his chair and hid behind the briefcase housing the spectrometer tracking program. He put his face in his hands and sighed as quietly as he could. 

He had fucked up. Big time.  


How could he show Bruce what he really felt? He knew he had to be careful, he didn’t want Bruce to think he was just doing it out of pity. And he’d probably have to take Bruce by surprise, otherwise he might run off again. But part of him knew that was wrong. He wanted it to be sweet, to show Bruce that he really cared. 

He heard Bruce stand up and walk over to the screen he’d been working at before their “moment”. He rubbed his hand across his face and around to the back of his neck. He had some planning to do.

***

Bruce stood up and walked softly to the suspended screen to resume his work. He picked his glasses up off the counter and gave them a quick clean on his sleeve before placing them back on the bridge of his nose. He wished the screen was made of more than glass, or was at least more opaque, so he didn’t have to avoid catching Tony’s eye. He fought the tightness building in his chest as he remembered the feel of Tony’s hand on the side of his face. 

He shut the memory out of his mind. He doesn’t want you, he reminded himself, no one does. The cold, familiar feeling crept up his spine and into his mind. The realization that no one would want someone like him, someone as screwed up as he was. It took a moment to realize his hands were by his sides and was staring at the floor. 

Unfortunately, Tony had noticed first. 

“Bruce?” he said softly, his eyes and voice full of worry. Bruce didn’t respond, his hands curling into fists. He could feel a lump forming in his throat and it was becoming hard to swallow. 

Tony strode over to him, praying he wouldn’t try and run. He stood still, but flinched slightly when Tony stopped next to him. His eyes stayed fixed on a spot on the floor. Tony gently put a hand under Bruce’s chin and lifted his head so he was looking at him. Bruce’s eyes were red, and Tony could see tears gathering in them. 

“Oh fuck, Bruce-” Tony began, but he ran out of words. He slid his hand around the back of Bruce’s head and gently pulled him closer. Bruce complied and leaned his forehead against Tony’s, closing his eyes and letting out a shaky sigh.

Tony watched as a small tear rolled down Bruce’s cheek, leaving a silver streak in its wake. He brushed it away with his other hand, before wrapping his arm around Bruce’s shoulder and pulling him closer. 

Their bodies flush, and their foreheads still touching, Tony pulled his head back slightly, causing Bruce to open his eyes. Tony’s own eyes flicked down to stare for a moment at Bruce’s lips. He leaned in slowly, giving Bruce a chance to run. But Bruce stayed where he was. Tony closed his eyes and brushed his lips against Bruce’s in a sweet, chaste kiss. 

He drew back again, searching Bruce’s face for any sign of hesitation, but all he saw was a spark of eager happiness fall on Bruce’s features before he leaned in and captured his lips once again. 

Bruce tentatively moved his hands to rest on Tony’s sides. Tony tilted his head to the side and deepened the kiss, running his tongue along the seam of Bruce’s lips, asking permission to enter. They parted with a sigh as Bruce slid a hand into Tony’s carefully tousled hair. He could feel his glasses going lopsided, but at this moment in time, he really didn’t care.

Bruce lightly swirled the tip of his tongue against Tony’s, and Tony’s hand fell from his shoulder to his hip, pulling them even closer and causing their crotches to rub together. Bruce moaned into Tony’s mouth, a small, deliciously sensual noise that sent Tony’s blood flooding south. 

Bruce reluctantly broke the kiss and pulled back, remembering the lack of privacy caused by the countless windows through to the corridor outside. They were both breathing heavily and unwilling to untangle themselves. 

Tony moved his hand from the back for Bruce’s head to under his chin, making sure Bruce was looking him dead in the eye.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He meant it to sound matter-of-fact, but a splinter of his worry was evident. 

Bruce nodded, his lips in a tight line. 

“I was just.. Thinking about..” he trailed off, unable to find a way to end the sentence without sounding pathetic. “It doesn’t matter, I’m alright.” 

He leaned his head on Tony’s shoulder with a sigh, his thumbs still brushing along the bottom of Tony’s ribcage. Tony turned his head and pressed soft kisses into Bruce’s hair as he linked his arms around Bruce’s waist. 

They stayed like that for a few minutes, wrapped up in each other’s scent and warmth. Tony placed a feather-light kiss on the top of Bruce’s ear before whispering in a delicately seductive tone. 

“This doesn’t have to a be a one-time deal, you know.” He traced the curve of Bruce’s ear with the tip of his tongue, causing Bruce to shudder and let out another tiny moan. 

“We should really get back to work,” Bruce whispered with a soft chuckle. 

“Yeah, we should..” Tony said wistfully. “Okay, okay, lets hurry before Fury has another bitch-fit,” he laughed and Bruce pressed a small kiss to the underside of Tony’s jaw. Tony pulled him back up into a final kiss before returning to his station. Bruce drifted back to his own bench, glancing back over his shoulder at Tony as he did so.

Tony usual smirk had been replaced by a shit-eating grin, and his hair was even more ruffed up than usual. 

Bruce adjusted his glasses and ran a hand through his hair in a futile attempt to flatten it a little. He cheeks betrayed him with a slight blush and he couldn’t fight the small smile threatening to claim his lips. Well, he thought, that was interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one took so long, hopefully the next one will be quicker!


End file.
